Jack Medows Leads SurprizenthePrincess to Win in Performance Halter Mares at 2014 AQHYA World

By: Brittany Bevis

16-year-old Jack Medows was in for a special “Surprize” when he lined up for the final placings of the Performance Halter Mares class this morning at the 2014 AQHYA World Show here in Oklahoma City. He and his mare, SurprizenthePrincess, took home the first World Championship of the show out of an impressive field of 37 entries.

The Reserve World Champion in the class was Paulina Martz with Onlythebestchocolate, and third place was Katie Bussing with CK Mardi Gras.

All it takes is one look at Princess’s flowing mane to guess that her usual discipline of choice isn’t halter. In fact, she’s Medows’s reining partner, and the pair plans to compete in the class next week.

“This is actually the first time we’ve shown her in halter, really,” Medows says. “I show her in the NRHA Derbies, and hopefully I will get to show her here on Wednesday.”

“She’s my princess, and she’s really sweet to be around. I’ve never had a horse that wants to please as much as she does. You never have to tell her anything twice. Usually, if you tell her once, she’s got it.”

The decision to show 5-year-old Princess at the Youth World Show this year in Performance Halter Mares was fairly last-minute. Medows explains how a chance encounter with halter horse trainer, Buddy Laney, led to today’s performance.

“We were here at the Redbud Spectacular riding her around,” Medows says. “Buddy saw her and said we should show her in the performance halter. We had to qualify her, so we’ve shown her a couple of times since then. It was kind of a last-minute thing.”

“She’s one of the best built horses that I’ve ever been around. A lot of reiners are shorter built, and she’s one of the only ones, I’ve seen, that has the balance and strength to go on top of it. We looked at her papers, and her mother goes back to Impressive, so that makes me think that’s where she gets it.”

Today marks Medows’s first AQHYA World Championship win. He’s also placed Reserve and third, twice, here at the World Show in Youth Reining.

“It’s a pretty fun experience,” he says. “It’s a World title, and not many people get to have those. You feel honored when you get one. There were some tough horses in there. I sure wasn’t expecting it.”

Medows and Princess will compete in their signature event next week under the guidance of Gabe Hutchins of Darling 888 Ranch in Kentucky.

Performance Halter Mares–

1-SurprizenthePrincess/Jack Medows

2-OnlyTheBestChocolate/Paulina Martz

3-CK Mardi Gras/Katie Bussing

4-One Hot Sister/Janet Sanders

5-Natural Order/Savannah Hauer

6-Lighten Up Rainbo/Carley Mae Shockley

7-Zips Bossy Chip/Ellexxah Maxwell

8-Only Invite The Best/Blake Edler

9-Formally Yours/Makayla Flowers

10-Ima Blazing Rosita/Danielle Paulson